Thursday, June 26, 2008

Holy Crap

GM's shares took a big hit today, down 10% on news that Goldman Sachs downgraded its stock to "sell."

GM's shares peaked in 2000 at $94; today it stands at $11.   GM has shed 87% of its value, and the market cap of GM is now less than $6.5 Billion.   For reference, Apple's market cap is in the area of $150 Billion, and Apple has $19 Billion cash on hand.  Apple could buy GM in cash using only a third of its spare change.

Remarkable, given the relative size of the enterprises.   Apple has annual revenue of about $24B, and GM's revenues are still in the $200B range.  Of course AAPL is profitable, and that really does make the difference.

This is a great article giving some perspective as to where GM now stands in the pecking order of the business world. (spoiler: It's worth half as much as Avon, Inc.)  So what will happen first for GM: Bankruptcy or acquisition?

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